Campbell’s core downtown needs a bigger dose of retail businesses to mix with the abundance of restaurants already there, city leaders and some residents agreed during a study session June 16.

But rather than ban future restaurants from locating downtown, the city council and planning commission indicated during their joint meeting that new eateries could be encouraged to set up on the other side of Highway 17, closer to the Pruneyard Shopping Center. That would increase foot traffic once the portals project connecting downtown and the Pruneyard is finished.

The portal runs under Highway 17 and will be used to promote safer foot traffic to and from both sites.

“Let’s shift [restaurants] to get down there near the Pruneyard,” Vice Mayor Jason Baker said during the study session. “Push that direction, where we’re trying to extend downtown.”

Since 2007, restaurants and other commercial businesses have flourished, particularly along East Campbell Avenue. Today, restaurants occupy more than 90,000 square feet of commercial space compared to 61,095 square feet in 2007, according to a city staff report. By contrast, retail space has dwindled from almost 64,000 square feet in 2007 to 51,000 square feet today.

Deb Rohzen, owner of the Simply Smashing boutique, said at the meeting that a mix of uses downtown is important to small shop owners.

“It is a tremendous amount of work to stay open,” Rohzen said, noting her business has been operating for 14 years.

While some business owners hope the city will limit the influx of restaurants, nearby residents said they would like to see more done to prevent the kind of trouble associated with downtown’s nightlife.

One downtown resident said that when she moved to the city 11 years ago she didn’t expect it to turn into such a bustling night spot. People have tried to break into her car three times, and she’s even seen people committing lewd acts late at night, she added.

Council members and planning commissioners agreed that retail businesses could be given incentives to move in and renovate former restaurant spaces. And revising the city’s sign ordinance to help downtown shops advertise more visibly also would help, they said.

Retail businesses that meet the downtown’s ambiance should be especially welcome. Although attracting an anchor store also was suggested, there was an acknowledgement that downtowns that are seen as historic don’t usually attract large businesses.

Both the council and commission agreed to continue discussing what the city can do to assist retail businesses to entice them to come downtown. The council previously discussed the retail topic Feb. 17 and twice in 2013.

Jasmine Leyva is a writer for the Silicon Valley Community Newspapers reporting on news in the city of Campbell. She is a San Jose State University alum, enjoys reading and can be found practicing yoga in her spare time.

In addition to evacuating 10 neighboring homes, deputies restricted pedestrian and vehicle traffic in the area while the sheriff's office bomb squad "safely disposed" of the explosives, officials said.